


A love that remains

by Costa_Cat



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a kinda happy ending, Beth and daryl BROTP, Kinda, Kisses, M/M, Rickly otp, Sad, The MCD is just Beth, darus also otp, i mean not really - Freeform, idk - Freeform, im sorry that is completely unrelated, like once lmao, not a sad ending, rwg, suicidal thoughts i guess, this is for kings lake whoooooo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-20
Updated: 2016-12-20
Packaged: 2018-09-10 17:31:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8926039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Costa_Cat/pseuds/Costa_Cat
Summary: Daryl is breaking down over Beth's death but Rick is there to pick up the pieces.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [CarburetorCastiel](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CarburetorCastiel/gifts).



> Okay so this is for kingslake for the Secret santa thing with the RWG so yay for them. I hope they enjoy this!
> 
> Enjoy this my darlings

 

“ _You're gonna miss me so bad when I'm gone Daryl Dixon”_

 

The words won't stop floating around his head. She is right. Well, she _was_ right. Daryl is having a lot of trouble with present and past tense. He just can't get it in his head that she's gone. That's she is dead and there is nothing in the world that will change that. Nothing he can do or say or feel is going to bring that sweet, little girl back who used to sing when the nights got too cold.

 

There is massive hole inside of him, worse than when his brother died, that is slowly over coming him and he can't bring himself to care enough to stop it. Not that he would be able to and it won't bring her back anyway. Nothing will. She's not coming back. Ever. And it is the hardest thing he has ever had to come to terms with. That the strong, brave girl who used to sing when the nights got too lonely is dead and buried in the ground.

 

“ _You're gonna miss me so bad when I'm gone Daryl Dixon”_

 

It's as if she knew that she'd be the first to go. She had so little faith in herself. Punishing herself because she thought she wasn't tough enough, or that she hadn't changed. Truth is she adapted perfectly to the new world. Changed enough so she could take care of herself but not enough to lose herself to the pain and horror of the world they now live in. She was perfect for the new world. And now she's dead and the Earth suffered greatly at her loss.

 

The thoughts get too much for him again and he feels guilty because he doesn't deserve to feel this way when Beth's sister is only walking a few feet in front of him. Maggie looks so broken, as if she could collapse at any moment. Glenn is walking protectively beside her. This is his fault that she's feeling like, he couldn't save Beth. The guilt gets too much and he goes off into the woods, purposefully ignoring his lovers worried gaze as Rick watches him disappear.

 

“ _You're gonna miss me so bad when I'm gone Daryl Dixon”_

 

Everything is overwhelming. Her sweet voice is so vivid in his mind it feels like she's right behind him, ready to call him out on his bullshit or sing sweet melodies that he had come to love so much. It's too much, the guilt, the memories, the songs. He doesn't know what to do, he has to keep fighting but he doesn't want too. He doesn't even know if he has it in him to fight. Beth had him believing that maybe one day things could work out. But then she died and everything was wiped away.

 

But he doesn't have a choice. He has to keep going, for Rick. He loves him, more than words could ever hope to describe. And he knows Rick loves him too. They have been each others rocks since the prisons days. He remembers what Michonne told him after they all found each other. How she described Rick being practically feral, completely out of control, worried out of his mind about Daryl. He just can't give up, he can _not_ do that to Rick. But it doesn't change the fact that Beth is fucking dead.

 

“ _You're gonna miss me so bad when I'm gone Daryl Dixon”_

 

He didn't even get to say goodbye. It happened so fast. One moment she was there, in all her glory, wearing a smile that brightened the room around them and the next she was just a body. A body that that didn't have her soul in it any more. Just something they had to deal with, by burning it or burying it. A body that used to have the softest soul inside, now just an empty carcass six feet under the ground. They cried over it, Daryl carried it out and lent it onto the ground for Maggie to hold one last time but it made no difference as Beth wasn't there any more. It didn't bring her back, didn't make it all okay and it didn't justify her death. Nothing can. He didn't even get to say goodbye.

 

God everything is just so damn fucked. She was like a little sister to him. A better person than Merle. Instead of shouting at him or punishing him for his mistakes she forgave him and helped him move on. She made him a better person. She made him want to be a better fucking person. And now she's just.... gone. And whispered words under the stars in the dead of the night or rough hands holding his or a not so reassuring glance between friends or some dumb ass prayer isn't going to change the fact that there is a chasm where Beth used to be. A chasm that can't be filled. So far and so wide that even sharpest of eyes can't see where it ends. And none of this, nothing he can do or say or think or feel or yell or whisper or scream is going to bring back the girl who used to sing on the nights when everything got too much to handle.

 

“ _You're gonna miss me so bad when I'm gone Daryl Dixon”_

 

He's so out of it he didn't see or hear Rick approaching until he's right in front of him. Which is a fucking miracle considering the fact that an elephant could be quieter than him. One look at his lovers face and he can tell that Rick is thinking the same thing. It's been a long time since he's seen Rick look that worried. He kneels down in front of him and gently places his hands and on Daryl's knees. He doesn't acknowledge the sheriff. Doesn't really do anything about it. He's too wrapped up in everything to find the motivation in himself to respond to Rick. If it even is Rick, it could be a walker for all he knows. He just doesn't really care that much.

 

It turns out that it is Rick since no walker and none of his family would sit down next to him and wrap his arms around him. Well except maybe Carol but it's obviously not her if the thick arms are anything to go by. He can literally feel Rick's worry growing at Daryl's lack of reaction at being man-handled into Rick's arms so his head his resting against his shoulder. Daryl once accidentally on purpose punched Rick because he man-handled him, but now he gets no reaction. Daryl's just too tired to do anything. He knows at some point later in the day he'll find it in him to get up and move, to react and pretend to be okay but right now he can't. He just needs time. Then he'll break down like this again when the loss of Beth gets too much. Rinse and repeat.

 

“ _You're gonna miss me so bad when I'm gone, Daryl Dixon.”_

 

Why can't he stop hearing that? He does miss her, so fucking bad. And he doesn't need her ghost reminding him every damn second of every damn day. His head is still cradled in his lovers arms and he must of wrapped his around him at one point but he doesn't remember it. It's oddly comforting and he feels a little bit better. It is like a small candle being lit up in a dark cavern. It's going to go out at some point and then he'll be walking blind again, but at least for now he can see even if he can't see that far.

 

“It's been three weeks since Atlanta. I know you lost something back there.” He rumbles softly into his hair.

 

Daryl doesn't even grunt in response, too busy trying to fight back the tears that are threatening to fall. It's just near impossible to come to terms with her death. That she's really fucking gone. That she isn't going to sing at the camp fire as an attempt to lift people's spirits. That she isn't going to softly tell him that everything's going to work out at some point. That she isn't going to try and persuade him to play another dumb college game. That she isn't going to fucking do anything because she's dead and he won't ever get to see that damn smile which brightens every room she's in again.

 

“I get that this hit you hard. I get that you're not alright and I get that you probably won't be for a while. I get that I really do. Just know that I'm hear and always will be because I love you so fucking much that I am in no way letting you go so easily. So let me be here, don't push me away. Let me be strong for you until you're ready to stand back up again. I love you Daryl Dixon. And you will stand back up because I know you and you're strong, even if you don't know it yourself.” He says it with so much love and compassion that the tears he has been trying so hard to keep at bay spill out.

 

He leans up and kisses him, just to feel and it is enough to give him hope. For him to believe that at maybe some point he'll be ready to move on, that at some point he can think of Beth and it won't feel like a million knifes cutting into his soul at once. That one day he'll be able to stand up with pride, that Beth can be a pleasant memory that he talks about to others. He has Rick. Beth won't want him to give up because of her. He's had Rick. He has Rick. He will always have Rick. And there's nowhere he can go without Beth being right there with him.

 

“ _You're gonna be the last man standing. **You are**.”_

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Please don't hate me it wasn't that sad.. was it? I loved Beth so much so I hope I did half okay on this.
> 
> Comments and Kudos if you liked it, comment even if you didn't. every opinion is welcome. 
> 
> Until next time my darlings


End file.
